Druid Fairy

Chapter 108 Martial Forging Pill

As the mist dissipated, it was already dawn when Li Pingcan returned to Peach Blossom Village, weary from his journey.

The backyard of the Li family.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw my father, Li Rongzhou, practicing boxing in the yard.

My father's boxing style was still the same "Five Spirits Play" that he knew by heart, but it was different this time. Each move was no longer just a resemblance, but had gained a real killing intent.

The tiger's ferocity, the crane's agility, the bear's composure... these five qualities flowed together, subtly stirring the surrounding air currents and creating a series of soft whistling sounds.

"Father," Li Pingcan called softly.

Li Rongzhou slowly withdrew his fist, exhaling a long, thin breath of white air that condensed and lingered in the morning chill. He turned around, looked at his youngest son, and a relieved smile appeared on his face.

"came back."

Without needing many words, the tacit understanding between the father and son was already beyond words.

Li Pingcan briefly recounted the events of the previous night, including the shocking conspiracy surrounding the "Wusheng Daochang," telling Li Rongzhou everything in detail. He spoke in great detail, not even concealing the horrific scene of the Holy Envoy's self-destruction.

Rong Zhou's face darkened instantly, and anger flashed in his eyes.

"This world is ultimately not peaceful, and the Wusheng Sect is not a sect that ordinary people encounter, but a true evil cult."

He sighed and turned his gaze toward the kitchen, where Qin Shi and Xie Yuan were preparing breakfast for the family, chatting and laughing together.

Li Pingcan said in a low voice, "I plan to upgrade the maze array at home again to ensure it is foolproof."

This was one of his previous backup plans; if anyone tried to force their way in, they would only get lost within the formation. However, it still doesn't seem safe enough at the moment.

Li Rongzhou nodded, then said, "Can'er, guarding against thieves for a thousand days is not a long-term solution. Constantly defending will only keep us running around in circles."

He sees things more clearly than anyone else.

“I understand.” Li Pingcan nodded solemnly.

Li Rongzhou didn't say anything more; this was the tacit understanding and trust between father and son.

Li Pingcan returned to the backyard and rebuilt the formation.

Fortunately, we have no shortage of materials.

Two-hundred-year-old locust tree, wind-stabilizing stone, mysterious water, clear dew-kissed soil...

The materials I obtained from my eldest and second eldest brothers were the best treasures in the entire county, and even some basic, low-grade spiritual materials.

All of this is the result of the "confiscation" of homes over the past few months.

He carefully examined the original formation, removing all the formation bases and flags and reforging them one by one.
This time, what was set up was not just a maze formation, but a maze formation based on which some illusion formations and killing formations were added.

His fingertips moved with spiritual energy, like butterflies flitting among flowers, and intricate and profound array patterns were carved onto the ground.

"Concealing the profound as its essence, hiding the spiritual as its function..."

"Mystery is the outward appearance, but violence is the inner workings..."

One after another, array patterns ten times more complex and profound than before formed smoothly from his fingertips. His movements were so focused that he seemed to have merged with the world around him, and with each stroke, the surrounding spiritual energy resonated in response.

A whole day.

When Li Pingcan placed the spirit stone into the array's core, the entire array emitted a slight hum, then completely disappeared without a sound.

From the outside, the Li family mansion still appears to be an ordinary farmhouse, but anyone with impure intentions who ventures inside will instantly lose their way, as if trapped in an endless maze, and may even trigger a hidden killing formation, summoning a thunderous attack.

"It's done!"

Li Pingcan let out a long breath and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He named this brand-new grand formation the "Seven Spirits Formation." It not only integrates seven functions—concealing mystery, hiding spirits, elusiveness, gathering spirits, defense, warning, and killing—but also, over time, it absorbs the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, constantly repairing and strengthening itself.

"Even if a master of the Innate Realm were to break into this formation, they would be trapped for at least one or two hours."

Li Pingcan felt somewhat relieved, but the worry had not completely dissipated.

No matter how strong the formation is, it is ultimately a passive defense.

Family members can stay home for a while, but they can't live in this "cage" forever.

Where is the logic in guarding against thieves for a thousand days?

…………

It's quiet at night.

Li Pingcan sat in the cave, the moonlight like water, shining on his face, reflecting a serene atmosphere.

He wasn't practicing any spiritual cultivation, yet his mind was racing with thoughts.

The formation in our home has been upgraded, making it as solid as a rock.

The eldest and second eldest brothers in the county town also increased their vigilance.

But all of this is just passive defense.

The threat of the Wusheng Sect is like a heavy sword hanging over the Li family's head, ready to fall at any moment.

He couldn't wait, and he didn't want to wait.

It is foolish to place your hopes on the enemy's negligence.

The only way to truly solve the problem is through absolute power.

"With my current strength, at the second level of Qi Refining, combined with Druid skills and the Innate Realm, I can easily deal with ordinary mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators."

However, when facing the "Holy Master" of the Wusheng Sect, a cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining is far from being "safe" with his current strength.

"I need to become stronger!"

This thought grew wildly in my mind, clearer and more urgent than ever before.

The path to immortality requires painstaking effort and it is difficult to achieve a qualitative leap in a short period of time.

The only breakthrough seems to be in martial arts.

He has now reached the peak of the Innate Realm in martial arts, and his true energy is refined. It seems that he is only a thin layer of paper away from the legendary ultimate realm of martial arts.

Grandmaster of the Divine Martial Realm!

Once you step into this realm, you will experience a leap in your level of life.

At that time, the physical body will be comparable to a magic weapon, the true energy will be inexhaustible, the strength of the physical body will be comparable to a magic weapon, and the strength will be enough to directly confront a cultivator at the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining!
If he could reach that level, all the Wusheng Sect, all the conspiracies and schemes, would be nothing but clay chickens and earthen dogs in his presence.

"Let's take this road!"

Li Pingcan never doubted that one day he would be able to break through to the Grandmaster level of the Divine Martial Realm and possess the "Five Spirits Play" evolved from the "Beast Form and Intent" that could break through the physical limits. This step was a natural progression.

However, given the current crisis, if one wants to break through to the Divine Martial Realm ahead of schedule, one will need to rely on external forces.

"I need a elixir that can enhance my martial arts power!"

To break through to the Divine Martial Realm in a short time by relying solely on arduous cultivation is nothing short of a pipe dream.

The only shortcut is to find a magic pill that can temper the body and unleash potential.

But how precious are alchemists?

Looking across the entire Yunshui County, alchemists are extremely rare, and all of them have connections with Liang Xianguan. Liang Xianguan is a cunning and shrewd man who maintains a facade of harmony with the Li family while harboring resentment. If he knew that the Li family was seeking elixirs, he would surely try to obstruct them. Moreover, alchemists of low skill level are unable to refine the elixirs he needs.

As for the state capital, alchemists are treated as honored guests by major immortal cultivation sects and prominent families, and it is extremely difficult for ordinary people to even catch a glimpse of them.

After much thought, the only breakthrough point turned out to be Sun Danshi, a first-grade alchemist from the Mu family, who was related to his second brother Li Ping'an by marriage.

Although Master Sun was arrogant, his alchemy skills were superb. He even gave away pills like the "Strengthening the Foundation Pill," which was a pill for innate masters, demonstrating his profound knowledge of alchemy.

To ask someone to refine elixirs, arriving empty-handed is a grave taboo. Especially with such extraordinary individuals, ordinary gold and silver are utterly beneath their notice. Only by preparing spiritual materials will there be even the slightest chance.

Looks like I'm in for a busy day again.

Li Pingcan made up his mind and had a plan in mind. It just so happened that the monthly Lingshan Treasure Exchange Meeting was about to begin.

He transformed into a nightingale, flapped his wings, and flew towards the old mulberry tree.

…………

As night fell, the moonlight shone like water beneath the ancient mulberry tree. Tonight's Yi Bao Hui was much more lively than usual.

Before Li Pingcan even arrived, the five "Elders of Lingshan" had already gathered together, excitedly boasting to the Nine-Tailed Fox and Bai Xiaoya about something.

"You didn't see it!"

Xiong Er spoke in a deep, booming voice, gesturing wildly and spitting as he spoke, "I just casually went out for a stroll and took a bath in the river down the mountain. Good heavens, those human brats saw me like they'd seen a ghost, crying and screaming, running away in terror! Am I, Old Xiong, really that scary?"

Tiger's eyes were full of pride. "The pangolin is still as bad-tempered as ever. Heh, if it weren't for our old acquaintance, I would have let it taste my newly trained tiger claws!"
"I think the scenery outside the mountains is not as peaceful as the mountains themselves." Crane Four elegantly preened its feathers, its tone calm, but the slight upturn of its lips betrayed its inner joy.

The nine-tailed fox, listening to the nine fluffy tails swishing back and forth, felt a pang of envy. It had long yearned for the bustling world outside the mountains. Now, hearing these silly creatures boasting, it felt an itch in its heart, like a cat scratching at its own desire.

Alas, during my training, I accidentally stumbled upon Mount Ling, and one wrong step led to eternal regret.

Meanwhile, the crows on the branches remained silent, their small, black bean-like eyes darting around constantly, occasionally glancing at the lush green mulberry leaf hanging from Hu Da's waist, their eyes gleaming with undisguised longing.

Just then, a dark shadow descended from the sky, and Li Pingcan, transformed into a nightingale, landed steadily on the branch of the old mulberry tree.

"Night Immortal Venerable!" All the spirit beasts bowed, their attitude becoming increasingly respectful.

"Fellow Daoists, how have you been?" Li Pingcan replied politely.

Before he could continue speaking, the Hundred Crow could no longer contain itself and flew to Li Pingcan with a "flutter," asking, "Night Immortal Venerable, do you still have any of those 'Tracing Leaves'?"

Despite its name being "all-knowing," it cannot even leave Lingshan; its name is undeserved!
Li Pingcan chuckled inwardly, then pretended to ponder: "These Tracking Leaves were made by Elder Sang using his own essence, and then I refined them. The quantity is indeed not large, but there are still some left."

He looked at Bai Xiaoya and asked leisurely, "The Treasure Exchange Society emphasizes equivalent exchange. I wonder what treasure Fellow Daoist Crow intends to use in exchange?"

Bai Xiaoya was speechless for a moment. Its clever eyes darted around, clearly calculating at a rapid pace.

Their specialty is gathering information and intelligence; as for rare treasures, they really don't have any.

It tentatively said, "How about I trade you three of the most secret gossip tidbits from Mount Ling? Guaranteed to be explosive! For example, the nine-tailed fox secretly hiding portraits of handsome men in the mortal realm, or the spirit bear secretly drinking someone's monkey wine last time..."

"Cough cough!" The Nine-Tailed Fox and Ape Three coughed simultaneously as a warning, glaring at it fiercely.

“I’m not interested in that.” Li Pingcan shook his head and made a move to put away the Tracking Leaf.

"No, no, no!" Bai Xiaoya panicked immediately. It gritted its teeth, as if it were going to make a huge sacrifice, and said in a low voice, "I'll trade you a top-secret piece of information about the 'Flesh Body Spirit Fruit'! This information is known only to me, a bird, throughout the entire Spirit Mountain!"

"The Spirit Fruit of the Flesh Body?"

Li Pingcan's heart stirred. Just hearing the name, he knew it was related to strengthening the physical body, which was exactly what he needed right now.

It's not necessarily the elixir that can elevate one's cultivation level.

“That’s right!” Bai Xiaoya said quickly when he saw that he was interested. “That is a rare treasure born of heaven and earth, which can temper our spirit beast bodies and transform us.”

"Is the news reliable?"

"Absolutely true!" Seeing a glimmer of hope, Bai Xiaoya quickly patted his chest and assured him, "That place is extremely secluded, and guarded by demonic beasts. If it weren't for our clan's extraordinary talent, there would be no way we could have discovered it. I'm willing to tell the Immortal Venerable the location, in exchange for just one Tracking Leaf!"

"Deal." Li Pingcan readily agreed, flicking his finger, and a leaf imbued with the scent of the Mulberry Spirit Tree landed steadily in front of Bai Xiaoya.

Bai Xiaoya was overjoyed to have found a treasure. He excitedly picked it up with his beak, thanked Li Pingcan profusely, and then flew to the side, carefully hiding the leaf under his wings.

He then transmitted the message verbatim into Li Pingcan's mind through his divine sense.

Li Pingcan processed the information in his mind, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

This physical spirit fruit is practically a treasure tailor-made for him. If he can obtain it, his chances of breaking through to the Divine Martial Realm will increase by at least 30%!

He suppressed his excitement and turned his gaze to the nine-tailed spirit fox.

He took out the scroll of "Hehuan Tianyu Jing" that he had obtained from Su Meiniang.

"Fellow Daoist Fox, this is a human's charm technique, useless to me, but perhaps beneficial to your cultivation. I wonder if you are interested?"

The fox spirit took the thin booklet, flipped through just two pages, and its eyes lit up.

What was recorded in the book was not some profound breathing technique, but a method for cultivating the soul and seductive arts by arousing the seven emotions and six desires, which seemed to be tailor-made for her fox clan.

"What would you like to exchange, Immortal Venerable?" The fox spirit's voice grew increasingly soft and alluring, clearly indicating that she was extremely satisfied with the item.

"I need some spiritual materials that contain pure life force, the older the better."

"Hehe, easy." The nine-tailed fox chuckled, her voice sweet and seductive, and took out a lustrous fox bone crystal, which was obtained after the fox's death.

Li Pingcan then used a Tracking Leaf to exchange for the spiritual material Purple Thunder Bamboo with the Spirit Fox.

He then realized that this nine-tailed fox was a "big shot" in Mount Ling, with considerable wealth.

Seeing Nightingale's surprise, Bai Xiaoya cackled, "Hey! Immortal Venerable, don't be fooled by the Nine-Tailed Fox's appearance; it is a descendant of Qingqiu."

Li Pingcan suddenly realized that she was a down-on-her-luck "young lady" who had been unexpectedly trapped in Lingshan. No wonder she was so "rich"!
One portion of spiritual materials is provided as a material cost.

The other payment was for Master Sun Dan's earnings.

With these two rare spiritual materials, enough to make cultivators outside fight tooth and nail for them, their chances of getting Master Sun to agree to their request increased even further.

Li Pingcan nodded in satisfaction and put the spiritual material into his pocket.

…………

Yunshui County, Mu Family Mansion, Dan Hall.

The courtyard was still sweltering, filled with the aroma of medicine.

Li Ping'an straightened his clothes, took a deep breath, and with the respect due to a junior and a touch of appropriate unease on his face, walked into the heavily guarded alchemy courtyard.

This was his third visit. The first two times, he was turned away by the people of the Pill Hall on the grounds that "when alchemy reaches a critical stage, guests are not received."

Although he was anxious, he dared not show it on his face and waited patiently.

These extraordinary individuals have eccentric temperaments and are most responsive to gentle persuasion rather than force.

Half an hour later, a servant said, "The alchemist wants you to come in."

Li Ping'an was overjoyed. He followed the alchemist and bowed deeply to Alchemist Sun, saying, "Alchemist Sun."

"It's you again, you little rascal. Are you a fly?"

Master Sun was sitting cross-legged in front of the alchemy furnace, intently controlling the fire. When he saw Li Ping'an enter, he didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Speak your mind, or shut up. I'm too busy to waste time arguing with a scholar like you."

This alchemist's temperament really hasn't changed at all.

Li Ping'an's heart tightened. "It is truly an offense to disturb Master Sun's quiet cultivation. However, my elder brother has recently made some progress and broken through to the Innate Realm in martial arts, but his foundation is unstable and his aura is weak."

Having heard of Master Sun's profound knowledge of alchemy, I dared to come and earnestly request Master Sun to refine a 'Martial Foundation Pill' for my elder brother to help him stabilize his cultivation level.

As he spoke, he presented the brocade box in his hand, saying, "These are some meager materials that I have painstakingly searched for. I hope Master Sun will not find them offensive."

His words were spoken with genuine sincerity.

Master Sun nodded slightly after listening.

'This lad has a good temperament,' Master Sun thought to himself. 'Well, it's just opening a batch of pills; it'll only take a little effort.'

However, he had always had a bad temper, and without even glancing at the brocade box, he said with a sharp tongue, "These are just pills for a mere martial artist. Do you think my alchemy furnace is for your family?"

Before he could finish speaking, his gaze froze when he saw the brocade box that Li Ping'an had opened.

Inside the brocade box, the purple thunder bamboo was surrounded by lightning, and the fox bone glass shone brightly, all radiating pure and powerful spiritual energy.

"Hmm?" Sun Danshi let out a surprised and uncertain hum.

"A hundred-year-old Purple Thunder Bamboo, and with such pure thunder power, not a single bit has been lost!"

"And the crystal seeds of the fox clan are extremely rare!"

Master Sun's face twitched. He had originally thought that the Li family wouldn't be able to produce any decent spiritual materials, but he hadn't expected that although they weren't top-notch, they were still of good quality and more than enough for him to use.

He choked for a moment, then snatched the brocade box away, stubbornly saying, "For the sake of your brother's love and for the sake of Wanqiu, I will reluctantly help you refine it."

"This junior understands. Everything is up to the alchemist!"

Li Ping'an was overjoyed. He knew that this eccentric alchemy master had agreed!

"Alright, alright." Master Sun waved his hand impatiently. "Come back for the pills in ten days."

(End of this chapter)